biology

Osteolathyrism

Osteolathyrism is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Osteolathyrism rather than just read about it. In short: Osteolathyrism, sometimes referred to as odoratism, is a form of the disease Lathyrism. The disease results from the ingestion of Lathyrus odoratus seeds (sweet peas).

Key takeaways

Osteolathyrism belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Osteolathyrism to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Osteolathyrism from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Osteolathyrism, sometimes referred to as odoratism, is a form of the disease Lathyrism. The disease results from the ingestion of Lathyrus odoratus seeds (sweet peas). The toxin found in the sweet peas is (beta-aminopropionitrile), which affects the linking of collagen, a protein of connective tissues. The condition results in damage to bone and mesenchymal connective tissues. Osteolathyrism occurs in people in combination with neurolathyrism and angiolathyrism in areas where famine demands reliance on a crop with known detrimental effects. It occurs in cattle and horses with diets overreliant upon the grass pea. Prominent symptoms include skeletal deformities and bone pain.

Signs and symptoms Bone pain Skeletal deformity Fatigue Malnourishment

Cause Aside from L. odoratus, other members of the genus are also known to cause the disease, including L. sylvestris, L. cicera, and L. clymenum. L. odoratus grows well under famine conditions, often severe drought, where it is cultivated. These legumes carry a variety of osteolathyrogenic compounds, specifically excitatory amino-compounds. The most widely studied of these compounds is beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN), which exerts its deleterious effect by an unknown yet potently irreversible mechanism. Other instigators are ureides, semicarbazides and thiosemicarbazides, which are believed to chelate the prosthetic Cu(II)-bipyridine cofactor complex in the enzyme lysyl oxidase. Lysyl oxidase is an important enzyme for the creation of crosslinks between collagen triple-helices in connective tissue. By oxidizing the terminal amino group of lysine, an aldehyde is created. This aldehyde can undergo several reactions with neighboring aldehydes or amines to create strong covalent cross-links between collagen tertiary structures in bone and cartilage. The main product of these reactions is the aldimine compound dehydrohydroxylysinonorleucine. This unique crosslink can be formed by the Schiff base mechanism in which the lone pair of electrons on a primary amine react with the carbonyl carbon of an aldehyde. Other crosslinks include the formation of an α,β-unsaturated ketone via aldol condensation and hydroxylysinonorleucine. If these crosslinks are not formed, as in the case of osteolathyrism, the synthesis of strong mesenchymal and mesodermal tissue is inhibited. Symptoms of osteolathyrism include weakness and fragility of connective tissue (i.e., skin, bones, and blood vessels (angiolathyrism) and the paralysis of the lower extremities associated with neurolathyrism. For these reasons, compounds containing lathyrogens should be avoided during pregnancy and growth of a child.

Prevention Prevention of osteolathyrism can be achieved with a cessation of L. sativus consumption.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Osteolathyrism

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Osteolathyrism claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Osteolathyrism before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Osteolathyrism ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Osteolathyrism

In research: Osteolathyrism appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Osteolathyrism in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Osteolathyrism is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Structural proteins, Toxic effect of noxious substances eaten as food, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Osteolathyrism outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Osteolathyrism” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Osteolathyrism in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Osteolathyrism means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Osteolathyrism out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Osteolathyrism in simple terms?

Osteolathyrism, sometimes referred to as odoratism, is a form of the disease Lathyrism. The disease results from the ingestion of Lathyrus odoratus seeds (sweet peas).

Why does Osteolathyrism matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Osteolathyrism?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Osteolathyrism.